Hanumangarh

Hanumangarhis a city in northern Rajasthan state in western India, situated on the banks of the river Ghaggar also identified as Ancient Sarasvati river, located about 400 km from Delhi. It is the administrative seat of Hanumangarh District. The city was once called Bhatner (alternatively spelled Bhatnair) because it was founded by king Bhupat in 255 AD. It remained in the control of Jats and Rajputs of Bhati clan and later occupied by Maharaja Soorat Singh of Bikaner.HistoryHanumangarh was the kingdom of bahti dynasty and hence its earlier name was Bhatner. Since it was won on Tuesday by Maharaja Soorat Singh of Bikaner, which is the auspicious day of the Hindu God Hanuman, it was rechristened as 'Hanumangarh' - the Fort of Hanuman the Hindu-god. A 1700-year-old Bhatner fort is situated in the middle of Hanumangarh Town, the description of which can be found in Ain-i-Akbari. A famous Bhadrakali temple is situated near the town on the banks of Ancient Sarasvati river(Ghaggar river).The area around Hanumangarh appears to be quite old. It has yielded a number of terracotta decorative tiles in the late Kushan Empire style along with a number of coins. Two terracotta capitals at the depth of 15' from the top of the mound with stepped pyramids along their edges have been discovered.The Hanumangarh district also has a significant place in the ancient history. The remains found at Kalibangan in 1951 reveal that this area was a part of nearly 5000 years old Indus Valley Civilization. The remains of human skeleton, unknown scripts, stamps, coins, utensils, jewelry, toys, statues, wells, bathrooms, fort, streets, markets etc., found in excavation tell the story of well developed life style of our ancestors. Besides Kalibangan, more than 100 other places are also there in the district where evidences of this old civilization have been found. The remains found at these places have been kept at Museum at Kalibangan and National Museum, New Delhi.